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[Amir0x]

So I was reading on the internet and I came across Fatal Familial Insomnia. I heard about it in brief before, but I never had actually read up on the full extent of what it does. This is one fucked up death sentence.

STAGE ONE - The sudden and inexplicable onset of insomnia causes panic attacks and unfounded phobias, lasting for about four months.

STAGE TWO - As sleep deprivation takes hold, the panic attacks and hallucinations become severe, lasting for a further five months.

STAGE THREE - The total insomnia causes rapid weight loss and limited mental functioning, lasting for up to three months.

STAGE FOUR - Finally, the patient suffers from dementia and unresponsiveness, lasting for up to six months.

And this is the kicker:

Eventually the patient falls into a coma and dies from total insomnia. One of the most tragic aspects of FFI is that though the sufferer shows signs of dementia, they have a clear understanding of what is happening to them, while enduring the physical agony of total sleeplessness.

I mean, that is fucked up. This is like Torture: The Disease.

 

[BHZ Mayor]

"The first recorded victim was an Italian man, deceased in Venice in the year 1765."

"As of 2013, no cure or treatment has yet been found for FFI."

Holy shit.

 

[FelixOrion]

Ironically, this sounds like one hell of a nightmare. Crazy that sleeping pills and barbiturates don't help at all and actually make it worse.

 

[Aurongel]

Instead of having nightmares you get to live one instead!

 

[Starphoenix]

Wow, that's horrible. I've experienced something similar but far less severe: had a sudden onset of insomnia and proceeded to to start having inexplicable anxiety and started hallucinating and bugging out for no reason. Couldn't imagine months of enduring that.

 

[PS3GamerKyle]

The article says that patients can never get past stage 1 sleep.

Fuck

 

[catmincer]

I always found this the worst possible thing.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Locked-in_syndrome

Locked-in syndrome, or LIS for short, is a condition in which a patient is aware and awake but cannot move or communicate verbally due to complete paralysis of nearly all voluntary muscles in the body except for the eyes. Total locked-in syndrome is a version of locked-in syndrome where the eyes are paralyzed, as well.

Nightmare material.

 

[narcosis219]

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=705904

Sign this dude up

 

[Princess Viola]

This is pretty bad, if you ask me.

Imagine your entire body turning into bone.

 

[Aztechnology]

Yea I would definitely kill myself if it was in my power (in that condition). I have sleep apnea so I know just how horrible insomnia is. I didn't even know I had apnea of course but it was enough to drive me to severe depression before it was treated.

 

[PS3GamerKyle]

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=705904

Sign this dude up

LOL. I laughed.

 

[Seraphis Cain]

Fortunately, FFI is something that 99.9% of the world won't have to worry about, as it's only been found 40 families worldwide, affecting about 100 people.

Spoiler

And yet they still found a way to incorporate it into an episode of Law & Order: SVU. :lol

 

[jet1911]

I still remember the first 3 month after my daughter was born.I think I slept around 5 hours max a day, and never more than 2 at a time. It was horrible. I can't even imagine how the people afflicted but this must feel.

 

[FinalFanXtreme]

What if you get black out drunk?

 

[Trouble]

I mean, that is fucked up. This is like Torture: The Disease.

Coming soon:
Torture: The Disease: The Game: The Movie

 

[Cagey]

I always found this the worst possible thing.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Locked-in_syndrome

Locked-in syndrome, or LIS for short, is a condition in which a patient is aware and awake but cannot move or communicate verbally due to complete paralysis of nearly all voluntary muscles in the body except for the eyes. Total locked-in syndrome is a version of locked-in syndrome where the eyes are paralyzed, as well.

Nightmare material.

I thought the thread was going to be about LIS, to be honest.

In terms of "common" ailments, Alzheimer's always struck me as the most horrific thing possible.

 

[flyinpiranha]

Dementia fascinates me. I do not want to suffer from it and I have seen what it does to my family first hand but the idea that we are our memories and then what is left when those are gone is just a a weird thought.

I have trouble aleeping but that sounds like one of the most terrible ways to go.

 

[ClassyPenguin]

Prion disease: The thread!

I've been wanting to make a thread about FFI and other prion diseases. Prion's are just misshapen proteins that cause diseases.
Mad cow disease? Yup, that's a prion. Which is why it is such a big deal, because it isn't like ecoli or salmonella, you really can't kill it, so the animals have to be destroyed.

There is now strong scientific evidence that the agent responsible for the outbreak of prion disease in cows, BSE, is the same agent responsible for the outbreak of vCJD in humans. Both disorders are invariably fatal brain diseases with unusually long incubation periods measured in years"

http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvrd/vcjd/index.htm

In human's there are genetic ones. So you really can't know you have it until after death. You live normally for like 40 or 60 years, then you're dead in a few months.

Kuru is the prion disease you get from cannibalism.

Some case studies of FFI:

Lugaresi et al. (1986) reported a 53-year-old man who presented with progressive insomnia and signs of dysautonomia, including pyrexia, diaphoresis, myosis, and sphincter disturbances. Dreamlike status, dysarthria, tremor, and myoclonus subsequently developed and led to coma and death after 9 months. Two sisters of the patient and many relatives over 3 generations had died of a similar disease.

Spacey et al. (2004) described a family of Chinese descent in which at least 6 members spanning 4 generations were affected with autosomal dominant fatal familial insomnia. At age 36 years, the proband presented with myoclonus and refractory insomnia with somniloquism and dream enactment. He later developed intermittent diplopia, dysphagia, dysarthria, ataxia, dementia, and dysautonomia, and died 12 months after onset.

Dimitri et al. (2006) reported an 18-year-old man with FFI who presented with psychotic mood disturbances with catatonic features. He developed total insomnia, showed rapid progressive neurologic deterioration, and died 7 months after onset of insomnia. The authors emphasized the unusual and early presentation, and they noted that psychiatric treatments, including medications and electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), worsened the disease course in this patient.

Manetto et al. (1992) presented the pedigree as well as the clinical and neuropathologic findings in 5 new cases. Men and women were affected in a pattern consistent with autosomal dominant inheritance. The age at onset varied between 37 and 61 years; the course averaged 13 months, with a range of 7 to 25 months.

http://omim.org/entry/600072

 

[niunhuiio]

"...has been found in just 40 families worldwide, affecting about 100 people..."

There's is a 50% chance the offspring of one of the 100 people will have it too. Tragic. glad it's not contagious to people not from the diseased families though. Hopefully there's a cure because this sounds like a real-life nightmare.

 

[Shiv47]

FFI does sound awful. But harlequin ichthyosis is some real nightmare fuel as well. DON'T FUCKING GOOGLE IT

 

[ClassyPenguin]

"...has been found in just 40 families worldwide, affecting about 100 people..."

There's is a 50% chance the offspring of one of the 100 people will have it too. Tragic. glad it's not contagious to people not from the diseased families though. Hopefully there's a cure because this sounds like a real-life nightmare.

You can get it from eating prion contaminated meat. Wild deer in America has been shown to contain some variants to mad cow. It's been suspected that it can easily jump to humans.

Basically, you can have it right now and be none the wiser.

 

[Hours Left]

I forget what it's called, but there is a disorder where you skin is constantly cracking and falling off so your entire body always looks like you're covered in burns. (The skin is very dark, and crumbles off like ash.) The amount of skin that falls off is incredible, with suffers having to sweep up bags and bags every day.

 

[Taco_Human]

Huntingtons is pretty terrible. Your brain melts and your bodily functions cease to work over time. It degenerates while you're alive.

 

[EightBitNate]

.

 

[Toa TAK]

Christ this thread.

Thanks for the reminder that my own body can turn against me at will.

 

[ipukespiders]

FFI does sound awful. But harlequin ichthyosis is some real nightmare fuel as well. DON'T FUCKING GOOGLE IT

DON'T TELL ME WHAT TO DO!

 

[ClassyPenguin]

CDC page about prions.

 

[CornBurrito]

If I ever get FFI I'm just ending it then and there.

 

[IceCold]

FFI does sound awful. But harlequin ichthyosis is some real nightmare fuel as well. DON'T FUCKING GOOGLE IT

goddammit. fuck my curiosity.

 

[ClassyPenguin]

Another thing to note is the horse meat scandal in Europe. This is why you want strict controls of what goes in your food and whether those animals are healthy.

The Public Health Impact of Prion Diseases (pdf)

 

[senahorse]

Sounds horrific, also:

 

[Ra\/en]

I'm not sure what the worst disease to have would be. FFI sounds pretty bad for sure.

I saw a particularly nasty case of Steven Johnson Syndrome/toxic epidermal necrolysis while on my medical school rotations. That one was pretty unfortunate... Not nearly as bad as some of the other diseases listed here though.

https://www.google.ca/search?q=stev...mUiAL5soCIDA&ved=0CAkQ_AUoAQ&biw=1280&bih=615

 

[PotionBleue]

This makes me think: are there diseases that actually have benefits?

EDIT: Holy shit

Hyperthymesia is a condition in which an individual possesses a superior autobiographical memory, meaning he or she can recall the vast majority of personal experiences and events in his or her life. (&#8230 Individuals with hyperthymesia can recall almost every day of their lives in near perfect detail, as well as public events that hold some personal significance to them. Those affected describe their memories as uncontrollable associations, when they encounter a date, they "see" a vivid depiction of that day in their heads. Recollection occurs without hesitation or conscious effort.

In June 2012 the case of "HK" was reported, a blind 20-year old man who could clearly recall every day of his life since the age of about 11. He told researchers that his memories are rich in sensory and emotional details, regardless of whether they are from years ago or yesterday. Ninety percent of his memories are in the first person, compared with an average of 66 percent in the general population.

 

[Tambini]

I'd kill myself.

 

[umop_3pisdn]

This makes me think: are there diseases that actually have benefits?

Having one of the recessive sickle cell anemia genes partially protects against malaria. I remember learning that in first year bio, but that's all I can really think of.

 

[jb1234]

There are some really awful diseases out there. Ignorance is truly bliss.

 

[ZealousD]

How about a MAGGOT IN YOUR EYE

 

[Shiv47]

DON'T TELL ME WHAT TO DO!

Given your username, you might dig it.

 

[789shadow]

This makes me think: are there diseases that actually have benefits?

Sickle cell dramatically increases resistance to malaria.

 

[Shawsie64]

This makes me think: are there diseases that actually have benefits?

EDIT: Holy shit

Man sounds like some nightmare shit there, I'd hate to remember some days with extreme emotions

 

[astarisborn94]

*gulp*

Thanks for reminding me that life can really suck if things go wrong.

This is pretty bad, if you ask me.

Imagine your entire body turning into bone.

Good grief that is terrible. I saw that back on the Discovery Health channel back in 2005 and that scared me to death to see that. I just can't imagine having to live with that.

 

[AlexBasch]

.

Lately, I'm having trouble walking. Huh.

This makes me think: are there diseases that actually have benefits?

Holy fuck, so that blind man has a, say, cached version of the world he used to know when he was 11? Fucking wow.

 

[ryutaro's mama]

Lou Gehrig's Disease is the worst, imo.

Wouldn't wish that on anyone.

 

[TheyTookOurJobs]

This makes my insomnia sound scary.

 

[fanboi]

A friends child got this:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krabbe_disease

Same age as my kid... was horrible.

 

[Blizzard]

Lou Gehrig's Disease is the worst, imo.

Wouldn't wish that on anyone.

A close friend of the family had her husband die from that as we all watched him lose more and more muscle control, while still remaining conscious of what happened around him, until I guess in the end he suffocated in bed.

She was basically our adopted grandmother after that since most of my normal grandparents or great grandparents died of various awful cancer/alzheimers/whatever diseases. She died too a few years back. I hope some day these things are cured.

 

[StopMakingSense]

Was going to say CJD, but that seems to be covered already. Fuck prions, man.

 

[hipbabboom]

How about a MAGGOT IN YOUR EYE

How about... NO

 

[PartlyCloudlike]

I had a coworker who suffered from a sleep condition where he never went into deep sleep. He told me he could remember the last time he had a restful nights sleep: Disneyland Hotel, 1988.

He has large, dark bags under his eyes and always looks tired. He's tried everything from medication to exercise but nothing really works. Feel bad for the guy.

 

[ElbowRocket]

What if you get black out drunk?

HOUSE